Chapter One
Penny
Consulting the spreadsheet I used to track progress in my bookgami project, I marked off the page number I’d just folded.
“Earth to Penny.” Bellamie’s comment came from only a few feet away, startling me.
Her sudden closeness caused me to bobble the book and wrinkle a few pages. I glanced up.
How long had she and our other two friends been standing there? I must have gotten so absorbed in my project, I hadn’t even noticed that the sounds of them cooking had stopped.
With a quick brush of my hand over the mussed paper, I closed the book and squeezed the front and back covers together to help reflatten the pages.
Bellamie, Starla, and Jolene huddled around me. It was nice of them to invite me to hang out, but I had to get this bookgami gift done.
We all knew that was only an excuse. Luckily they’re cool about my quirks.
The truth was that while her kitchen was spacious, with all of them working on recipes, it was a little too cramped for me.
Bellamie grimaced. “Sorry, didn’t mean to mess you up.”
Forcing a smile, I said, “The pages didn’t tear. They’ll be fine.”
“Thank goodness. We were wondering what you’re making this time.”
“Just a heart. It’s a gift for my mom’s wedding.”
“What a thoughtful idea.”
“I wanted it to last longer than her husband, so I’m not including initials this time.”
They laughed, and Jolene asked, “How many times has she been married? I forgot.”
“Jolene!” Starla elbowed her. “Don’t be rude.”
I shrugged. “The fact that we have to keep track gives a certain leeway. This is her fourth. I haven’t even met him. Actually, I thought I met him, then there was a different guy, and I got confused about who she was with…” I returned my attention to the book and dragged my thumb over the pages, some folded, some still begging to become part of the design.
Starla sat next to me on the couch, careful to avoid my spreadsheet. “On the upside, this is another chance for stepbrothers.”
My friends’ obsession with stepbrothers was lost on me. I was happy for each of them finding love so close to home but couldn’t understand how the family dynamic worked when their stepbrother became their husband, which made their mother or stepmom also their mother-in-law.
So complicated.
The only upside was that there were fewer family members to navigate, except that each of my friendsmarriedmore than one man—at the same time. An interesting twist on my mom’s approach.
Again, so complicated, but that was how this town operated.
Some people thought they had been born in the wrong era, wishing they were Vikings or Regency, but I’d simply been bornin the wrong town. The ménages and reverse harems of Eggplant Canyon had spread into Peach Bottom Valley and surrounding areas.
Life was hard enough to understand without defying social customs of marriage.
But my friends were each happily married to their stepbrothers and other men. My confusion wasn’t their problem.
“Or stepsisters…” Starla’s questioning tone and sudden fidgeting with the corner of my spreadsheet indicated the silence had grown to an awkward length.
“Or neither.” I gave the requisite response to ease their tension.
“What about the dating apps? Did you try any?” Bellamie asked.
